Siesta Key owners to redevelop Mira Mar rentals

Six months after Sarasota County denied a request to build near the beach on Siesta Key, which led to threats of litigation, owners of property just down the road are pitching a more palatable development.

Dennis and Wendy Madden plan to replace 12 rental units built before the end of World War II with the first new building in the neighborhood behind the Village since 2008. The couple aims to knock down four aging structures between a wrecked portion of Beach Road and Avenida Veneccia for a new six-unit, four-story building.

Attorney Charlie Bailey said he has met with representatives from the Siesta Key Association to discuss the proposal, which has been in the works for nearly four years. He’s asking the county at a May 11 public hearing to allow the construction, and give up about 200 feet of Beach Road near Sunset Point.

“It’s a win-win-win for the owner, the public and the county,” said Bailey, who is representing the Maddens.

If commissioners approve the road vacation, cars will no longer be able to traverse that portion, but public access will remain open for beachgoers, Bailey said. And the county, which has spent $230,000 to repair erosion damage on a northern part of the street, no longer has to provide maintenance.

County officials will also need to approve a variance to allow construction past the defined Gulf Beach Setback Line, but the proposed building is actually further landward than the current structures, Bailey said. The Maddens also own an undeveloped piece of property closer to the Gulf of Mexico, but will leave that untouched.

In October, county commissioners denied Ronald and Sania Allen’s request for such a variance to build a single-family home at 162 Beach Road for the fourth time. The couple’s attorney had hinted at litigation over the vacant parcel at that time.

“I know Gulf Beach Setback variances are typically controversial, but I think this one is going to be well received,” Bailey said.